


so they pull back

by ecv-197 (lazyfish)



Series: i'm a liability [5]
Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 18:30:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21141260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/ecv-197
Summary: Ed, Talla, and Kelly go on a date. Naturally, the conversation turns to Gordon.





	so they pull back

Ed probably should’ve been glad it was personal problems causing his recent distress instead of the fate of the galaxy, but the thing about being upset was that it rarely mattered what the source was. He knew, logically, that his argument with Gordon wasn’t as bad as the Kaylon attempting to attack Earth and destroy the Union, but it didn’t feel that way. It didn’t feel that way at all.

The door to his quarters opened, and he only turned enough to confirm it was Talla before going back to his brooding.

Dear God, he was brooding.

Talla sat next to him. “I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

“We weren’t being careful, and Gordon found out in the  _ worst _ way possible. And I’m sorry about that. I know he means a lot to you.”

“Yeah.” Ed slung his arm around Talla’s shoulders, pulling her close. Her warmth - physical and otherwise - was becoming synonymous with comfort for him, and it was nice. Kind of a Pavlovian reaction; he warmed up, and he felt better. 

“Do you still want to go out tonight?”

“Yeah, of course.” Ed frowned. “Did you not?”

“No, but Kelly wasn’t sure if you’d be up to it or if you’d want to sulk - her words, not mind.”

Ed huffed out a breath through his nose. “I don’t sulk.”

“I don’t know, you were looking kind of sulk-y to me.” Talla’s voice was light and teasing, and Ed rolled his eyes at her. 

“Kel coming?”

“She needed to grab something from her room, but she’s coming.” Talla paused. “Do you want to talk more? About Gordon?” Her voice was unsure and her blue eyes searching.

Ed sighed. “Not really. I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to make it better, y’know? He might just need space.”

“Would it help if I said something? Explained it to him?”

“I don’t know.” Ed had a feeling the wound was just a little too raw for Gordon to listen to anyone. Talla had become the other woman in his eyes, and that made her… not an ideal choice, even if she was the one with the most knowledge of sedoretus and how to explain them to humans. “We can come up with a plan later, okay? I just want to enjoy tonight with the three of us.” Their first official date with all three of them deserved not to be ruined by Ed’s melancholy.

Kelly opened the door just then, a scarf draped around her neck. That was interesting.

“Come on!”

Maybe letting her plan the date had been a bad idea.

\---

Or maybe not. The cold of the ice rink at least gave Ed and Kelly an excuse to stay close together. Talla was using it as an excuse too, even though her naturally higher body temperature was doing a better job of keeping her warm.

It wasn’t doing a better job of keeping her on-balance, though, and all Ed could think was that he was glad Xeleyans had stronger bones than humans. Otherwise Talla almost certainly would have broken her wrist with the amount of times she’d fallen onto it.

“I just can’t get it!” she huffed as she clambered up from her third fall in a single lap around the rink. “How are you two so good at it?” Her nose crinkled slightly in annoyance, probably because she wasn’t used to being bested in physical feats by humans.

“Practice,” Ed and Kelly chorused. Living in New York City meant there was an excellent place for ice skating every winter, and they had gone out together more than once just to skate and be merry. It was nice to be able to share skating with Talla, too - even if she wasn’t quite at the ‘be merry’ part yet.

Ed knew how to fix that.

“Why don’t we take a break and get some cocoa?” he asked, gesturing to the small stand near the entrance to the rink.

“Cocoa?” Talla repeated.

“Hot chocolate?” Kelly asked. Talla’s face remained blank.

“Wait, you’ve been living with humans for how long and you’ve never tasted hot chocolate!?”

“Is it like coffee?” Talla asked, nose crinkling again - this time in disgust. “Because if it’s like coffee, nuh uh. No way.”

“It’s not like coffee,” Kelly promised, smiling an amused smile. “Come on. We’ll keep you upright until we get there.” She grabbed one of Talla’s hands and left Ed to grab the other. Together the trio managed to get to the entrance of the rink without further disaster befalling Talla, and she stepped onto the concrete with a wobbly gait. Ed put a hand on her waist to steady her while Kelly ordered the hot chocolate, passing a styrofoam cup to Talla. That was a nice touch - the styrofoam was very retro, in a nostalgic sort of way.

“You’re sure this is safe for me to drink?”

“No, Talla, we’re going to kill you on our first date,” Kelly drawled. “Come on. Try a marshmallow.”

Talla still looked suspicious, but she picked up a marshmallow between her thumb and forefinger and popped it into her mouth. “Not bad,” she proclaimed.

“Okay, that’s a step,” Ed said. “Now drink it.”

“What if I don’t like it?”

“We may have to reconsider this relationship.” When Kelly saw the stricken look on Talla’s face, she let out a laugh. “I’m kidding!”

“She’s only kind of kidding,” Ed murmured into Talla’s ear, too quiet for Kelly to hear.

“Good to know,” Talla muttered back.

Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “I hope you’re not turning our girlfriend against me, Ed.”

Ed’s stomach did a little flip at the word  _ girlfriend. _ Three months ago he didn’t think he’d ever have another girlfriend, not after the mess with Teleya (and still being in love with Kelly, which was an entirely separate issue). Now he had two. Well, one and a half, since he didn’t know exactly how Talla would be counted. Humans had trouble with distinguishing between emotional intimacy and sexual intimacy, something Ed had only really begun to examine since he had become aware of the whole sedoretu thing.

“Bottom’s up,” Talla said, grimacing before taking a swig of her hot chocolate. She leaned back into Ed’s supporting hand, and for a terrifying moment he wondered if they  _ had _ actually poisoned her. Xeleyans didn’t have livers - would that be a problem for eating chocolate!? Shit, shit -

“Why the fuck didn’t you give me this earlier?” Talla clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said, and Ed laughed, startled. He hadn’t ever thought of Talla as the cursing type, though she was certainly in good company.

“Well, when  _ you _ give  _ us _ drinks…”

“That was one time! And I said sorry!”

Ed smiled and kissed Talla’s cheek quickly. “We know. Just teasing.”

“I’m not sure you’re going to get me back out there when there’s this stuff outside the rink,” Talla said, already reaching for another cup of cocoa. Kelly relinquished it, giving Ed a smile over the top of Talla’s head. Hopefully this wasn’t going to be like Bortus and the cigarettes - though hot chocolate was definitely a better thing to be addicted to.

“It might be better if we stop,” Kelly agreed. “Ed’s not as young as he used to be.”

“I’m like, five years older than you!”

“I know, you’re practically ancient.” Kelly was grinning like a madwoman and Ed  _ probably _ still should’ve been mad about her calling him old, but he couldn’t be. The atmosphere was just too damn  _ happy _ . Kelly was teasing him, her face flushed with the cold - Talla was giggling over her second cup of cocoa - the lights of the rink were casting a warm golden flow over everything - he was with two people he loved… This was everything he could’ve ever asked for.

Almost everything.

“Hey.” It was Talla’s voice that broke through his momentary melancholy. “It’ll turn out just fine.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ed, please, you’ve been in love with Gordon since you were nineteen.” Kelly shook her head at him, disbelieving. “We,” she pointed to herself, then to Ed, “know it was always going to be him completing the square. She,” Kelly pointed to Talla, “figured it out like ten seconds after you guys had that argument. It’s okay to miss him.”

Ed was still a little stuck on the fact that Kelly believed he had been in love with Gordon for that long. Sure, Gordon was his best friend, but Kelly hadn’t even  _ known _ him at nineteen, and definitely couldn’t have known enough to assert who he was in love with.

“I just don’t know what to do other than give him space,” Ed admitted quietly. “I… we… he’s never gonna understand this.”

“He’s never going to if we don’t let him try,” Kelly corrected. “We’ll give him space for as long as you think he needs, but eventually we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

“I like him, too,” Talla whispered. “So I’d rather not let him get away.”

“He’s not gonna run away. That’s not Gordon.” Gordon was loyal to a fault - he would rather hurt himself than hurt a friend. He had almost died from his devotion to Orrin, and Ed didn’t doubt Gordon would do the same thing for him. 

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Enough stubborn for a dozen starships, remember?” Talla asked, leaning back into him for a split-second. Ed adjusted his grip, pulling Kelly into their bundle of limbs, too. She pressed her nose into his neck, and he shivered at the cold.

“This is enough for now,” Ed told them. He wouldn’t want either of them to think they weren’t enough for him. He would’ve been satisfied with just Kelly - hell, even having the kind of closeness he was developing with Talla would’ve been enough for him. It was a way to feel less alone in a universe that sometimes felt way,  _ way _ too big for someone as insignificant as him. 

“For now,” Talla repeated. “But not forever.”

Ed didn’t need to think about forever, though - like he had said, now was enough for him.


End file.
